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Virat Kohli to lead India, Shikhar Dhawan axed for 2-match Test series against West Indies

The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced a 15-man Indian team for the two-Test home series against West Indies on Saturday. Virat Kohli, who was rested for the Asia Cup, will resumes captaincy in the Test series. 

Virat Kohli to lead India, Shikhar Dhawan axed for 2-match Test series against West Indies Image Courtesy: Reuters

The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced a 15-man Indian team for the two-Test home series against West Indies on Saturday. Virat Kohli, who was rested for the Asia Cup, will resumes captaincy in the Test series. 

The All-India Senior Selection Committee decided to rest pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, taking their recent workload into consideration. Ishant Sharma and Hardik Pandya, who are still recovering from their injuries, were not available for selection.  

Opener Shikhar Dhawan, who had a dismal show in England, misses out alongside Murali Vijay. Murali Vijay was axed after the second Test against England. Dinesh Karthik and Karun Nair, who were also part of the Test series against England were dropped from the squad. 

Mayank Agarwal and Mohammed Siraj were awarded their maiden India call-up. Agarwal had topped the batting charts with 1,160 runs in 13 innings, with five centuries to his name in the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy. 

“The first Test will be played at the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot from October 4-9, 2018 followed by the second Test at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad from October 12-16, 2018,” BCCI said in a statement.

India Squad: Virat Kohli (captain), KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur.